[Understanding of informed consent by elderly patients].
Fifty patients, aged 60 years or more, who had been admitted to a hematology ward for more than 1 month, were studied in regard to their understanding of informed consent. The doctors informed 74% of their patients about the disease for which they were being treated. The rate of informing patients remained low in those with advanced age or with malignant tumors. However, only 42% of the patients realized that they had been informed of their diagnosis and clinical condition. The comprehension rate remained low at 43.2% even in patients who were informed by their doctors. While 60% of patients declared that they understood what the doctors described, only 36% could write something about the name or the state of their disease. Even among the patients who could understand the doctor's explanation, the comprehension rate was 43.3%. Sixty-six percent of patients demonstrated their wish to have a correct explanation of their diagnosis, 36% of patients wanted to be treated according to their own wishes, and 48% of patients left the decisions regarding their treatment to the doctors.
Mori
M
M
Tokyo Metropolitan Geriatric Hospital.
Oota
K
K
Nagata
K
K
Tsutsumi
H
H
Okada
T
T
Kumakawa
T
T
D000368:Aged / Q000523:psychology*; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent; D008297:Male; D016743:Mental Competency; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms